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Tomatoey Tofu

Umm, weeknight cooking is hard. Anyone who tells you otherwise is full of crap. I am not even going to pretend to be one of those happy vegans who somehow manages to cook homemade meals every night. Many days, all I can muster is Seamless before collapsing into a coma on my couch.

That said, I enjoy cooking and generally feel better when I’m eating homemade food, so I try to do a lot of cooking on the weekends, and then have made a pact with myself to cook dinner at least one night during the week. I always make enough that I’ll have leftovers, and favor things that require only a few ingredients and one pan. I’ve tried making involved recipes on weeknights and this usually results in my hating life.

The below is one of my mom’s recipes that I make a lot. It’s super simple, but the tomato sauce has a rich, carameley quality–owing to the not insignificant proportion of olive oil. Pan searing the tofu is a nice add, but not actually required. Often I just cut it into squares and cook into the sauce at the end, which is truly just as tasty. This makes about 4 small or 2 large servings, and takes about 30-40 mins all in. You get a little break while the tomato sauce cooks down, which allows plenty of time to down a glass of wine and pretend the workday didn’t happen.

This is an easy weeknight recipe that gets you a nice balance of grains, veggies and protein.

Prep Time:45m

Cook Time:45m

Total Time:45m

Serves:4

Ingredients

5medium vine tomatoes (you can also use Roma, but the sauce will have a milder flavor)

1/4cupolive oil, plus extra for cooking the scallions and tofu

1packagesoft tofu (or firm, if that's your jam)

3large green scallions

1cupbrown rice, cooked to your preference

Pinch of kosher salt

Instructions

Cook the brown rice however you like (does everyone have a rice cooker? I highly recommend getting one if not)

Drain the tofu (I put a paper towel folded on a plate, set the tofu on top, add another paper towel to the top and cover with a second inverted plate. Then I put something heavy on top, like a cookbook or canned good. Is there a better way to do this? Martha Stewart never had a bit on tofu draining that I can recall).

While that's happening, cut the scallions into thirds and then half each third. You want thin strips that are 4-5 inches long.

Heat some oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat (I have two 6-qt All-Clad pans--one nonstick, one regular--that I use literally all the time. The large size makes it possible to cook enough for a dinner party or to have leftovers). Toss in the scallions and a kiss of salt, let cook a couple minutes until just the tiniest bit browned at the edges and just wilty. Don't let them lose their green!

While the scallions are cooking, I cut the tofu. Once in half lengthwise and then 8 times width wise gets you to nice rectangles, which is where you should stop if you're not planning to sauté them. If you're going to sauté, I cut the rectangles into triangles, like you'd do with a peanut butter sandwich. I'm not sure this makes the tofu taste better, but it's cuter.

Remove the scallions and set aside on a large plate. If you are sautéing the tofu, turn the heat down to medium and add a bit more oil. You want it to be hot enough that the tofu will brown (which it should be from cooking the scallions). Lay the tofu in, filling the pan. Cook about 3-4 mins on each side, watching until it browns and flipping. I add a smattering of salt when I flip it. Remove to the scallion plate (I sometimes put a paper towel down before setting the tofu aside to cool).

While the tofu cooks, I cut each tomato in half and remove any of the white core. When the tofu comes out, turn the heat down to medium low and add the tomatoes to the pan, cut side down. If it's nonstick, you shouldn't need any more oil at this point. Cover and let them simmer for about 5 minutes, until the skin comes off with tongs very easily. I just peel it all off directly from the pan. You don't HAVE to do this, but it makes the sauce smoother and silkier. Another option is to put all the warm tomatoes through a food processor or blender. Then you don't have to skin them, but now you have to clean another thing. Life is all about tradeoffs.

Once the tomatoes are peeled, mash them down gently with a fork or potato masher, or even just the back of a wooden spoon. Add the olive oil and a bit of salt, and let the whole thing cook down at a low simmer for a good ten minutes. The longer you wait, the better it tastes really.

If you didn't pre-saute the tofu, add it in for the last few minutes of cooking so that it can get steamed through.

Layer the rice, sauce and tofu into bowls, then top with the scallions.